Purpose
I try flavors initially to figure out what the hell I just bought so that when I start mixing I have an outline of what the flavor might do. I’m tasting for primary flavors, side notes and off flavors. The second paragraph is suggestions for how I might initially try the flavor in a mix and the third paragraph is a one line blurb of my overall impression.
These are not reviews. They are just tasting notes.
Methodology
Initial tastings are done in tap water. One drop of flavoring in 4 oz (or so) water. Tasting in water gives me a rough outline of what to expect later on and saves a lot of time and frustration (usually).
Vape tasting is done on a single-coil (around 1Ω) (Magma or Atomic) set to its tightest draw. I use rayon or cotton wicking for testing which I first break in by pulsing with unflavored solution until dry. I start tasting around 15 W and adjust downwards to 13 W. or so and then upwards to 20 W. I use a base of 50/50 PG/VG at 4% nicotine.
Concentrations start out at one drop of flavor to 19 drops base, yielding a 4 - 5% solution. My base is in a 60 ml bottle so the drops are a bit bigger than the flavor drops, hence the inexactitude here. If the flavor is muted (or off) I’ll add 10 drops of base at a time down to around 1% dilution to see if it helps. If this doesn’t work, I dump the sample and try again starting at 10% and down-mixing as needed.
End Note
I hope others find my notes a useful starting point and comment and expand on them. They are by no means the final word on flavorings. They’re just notes to myself that later get used, or revised or ignored when I’m playing with mixes.
Apple, Green
Flavor:
More apple juice than fresh apple. Subtle sour apple notes. Juicy — stimulates salivation - hmmmm. A lot of ester-y fruitiness on the front of the tongue but not big in your face apple flavor. Well-balanced with no odd flavors.
Try with:
Very pretty with a drop of spearmint as a bright, simple ADV. Try as a carrier fruit flavor under more volatile fruit flavors. Try in delicate mixes. Try in ciders. Try with dry tobacco flavors.
Blurb:
Apple Juicy-juice
Banana
Flavor:
Nose indicates loads of very ripe banana but taste is well-restrained ripe banana flavor with some candy-sweet fruitiness. Has a slight berry-isn note underneath. No unpleasant off flavors. No green notes.
Try with:
Use anywhere you want a ripe banana roundness and sweetness. Start at low %'s
Blurb:
Ripe Banana.
Blueberry
[Note: This came as freebie bottle in my last order. Looking at the site, it does not appear to be for sale as of yet.]
Flavor:
Very blueberry hard candy-ish. Sweet with some balancing acidity. Has the same quality as the flavoring in grape soda — oddly compelling but a little gross. Perfumey above 5%.
Try with:
Not sure where to use this? Try at 2% to start. Blueberry shrub?
Blurb:
Blueberry Hard Candy
Blueberry Muffin
Flavor:
Sweet, cooked blueberry. Subtle overall flavor. Has deeper notes but no punch. Clean/no off flavors. Don’t really get muffin notes at all
Try with:
Try using to round out berry flavors and add bottom ripeness. Very subtle vape on its own. Oddly this flavor stimulates mild salivation. Might work to make bakery/fruit mixes juicier.
Blurb:
Baked Blueberry. (The salivation thing is weird but really interesting.)
Cantaloupe
Flavor:
Sweet, ripe cantaloupe flavor. Full-bodied and soft. Non-aggressive fruit flavor that does not persist. Eschews musk and acetone notes in favor of a round, candied mellowness. No off flavors. NOTE: At higher heat/wattages this will take on an eggy flavor.
Try with:
Nice on its own. Would work as the base note in a melon or tropical mix. Try with Spearmint & green apple.
Blurb:
Cantaloupe cotton candy
Cherry, Black
Flavor:
Black cherry candy. No sharp notes or off-flavors. Inoffensive [Note: this is high praise, as I hate cherry flavors]
Try with:
Use in cola recipe. Try in cocktail-style mixes. Worth a shot in creams. Cherry pipe tobacco? Start at 1%
Blurb:
Black Cherry Wishniak
Coconut
Flavor:
Mellow, fatty, extra-creamy coconut. No suntan-lotion. More subtle than expected. Almost butter down around 1%. Consistent through temp range.
Try with:
Try at very low %’s for buttery quality where desired. [Note: users have reported coconut flavor coming through strongly at 1%] Above 2% for coconut flavor. Try with Dulce de Leche, Key Lime & Toasted Almond. Sub for TFA Extra where high notes are not needed or combine the two. Should find a lot of use for this. Versatile.
Blurb:
Coco-Lopez Double Cream (now with extra fat)
Coffee
Flavor:
Coconut and caramel up front followed by very clean coffee flavor. Sweet and slightly bitter with some sort of neutral front-of-the-tongue (grapey) fruitiness (ethyl acetate?) Vapes a little coffee “liqueur-esque” (alcohol?) but the coffee flavor is clean and free of unwanted off-notes. Nice little hint of organic earthiness in the exhale.
Try with:
Cocktail time! Add coffee backbone to cloying mixes. Try in place of coconut. Might be interesting in tobaccos. Caution using with additional coconut. May amplify fruit flavors a bit in mixes. Try @ tine% or dilute when mixing.
Blurb:
Coffee! (and coconut)
Creme de Menthe
Flavor:
Dead-on Creme de Menthe. Soft, creamy vanilla with mint. Well-balanced. Well-restrained. No off-tones
Try with:
Works solo as a soft ADV-style ‘nilla-mint. Try under more exotic herbal top notes. Might pop anise flavors. Look up creme de menthe cocktails. Try fattening-up with creams
Blurb
Just Creme de Menthe without the alcohol.
Guava
Flavor:
Whoa. Aggressive grapefruit/citrus and cascade hop terpi-ness. Terpenes dance just on the edge of fusel oil flavor. Low sweet fruity flavors balance high notes with guava and mango in the exhale. Pleasantly bitter finish
Try with:
Vape this solo w/an IPA. Try in a “Son of JACE” remix as well as any tropical mixes or punch. Riesling eliquid? Use as finishing hops if you ever find a beer flavoring.
Blurb:
Guava-Cascade-Hops
Lychee
Flavor:
Muted flavor at low wattages. Above 30 W exhibits fruitiness on inhale, and pineapple-lychee-grapefruit twang with a slight metallic edge on exhale. Tastes a lot like canned lychee.
Try with:
Add exotic top notes to tropical mixes. Better suited for blends intended for sub-ohm vaping
Blurb:
Canned lychee / 30W+
Menthol, Cool
Flavor:
At 2% exhibits pleasant wintergreen flavor with a good bit of chill. Not quite the impact of Koolada or Ice but definitely cold. Chill impact more nasal rather than back of throat as with ECX Menthol.
Try with:
Fine solo as a wintergreen vape. Should be nice for allergy season. Try with mints and the usual suspects.
Blurb:
Icy Wintergreen Menthol.
Orange
Flavor:
Soft, sweet, orangey Creamsicle-ish flavor. Has some of that “moment you break the peel” natural top-note. No off / cleaning product flavors. No acidic bite. A little muted at higher wattages
Try with:
Try in citrus blends for roundness & sweetness. Try with FA custard for Creme Catalana flavor. Try pairing with something that bites.
Blurb:
I have a dreamsicle
Peach
Flavor:
Deep somewhat over ripe but natural peach. Slightly buttery (lactonic?). Lacks middle range (aldehyde?) punch (and the accompanying cat pee smell) as well as most of the green high notes. Very clean overall.
Try with:
Good candidate for use in bakery (cooked) flavors (peach crumble!). Would work well as a supporting flavor in any stone fruit (peach/plum/apricot) mix to round out the bottom notes and add natural ripeness.
Blurb:
Super-ripe peach notes
Spearmint
Flavor:
Round, focused spearmint with some Koolada-esque chill. Nothing angular or searing. Powerful but not aggressively minty. Sweet (not cloying). Well-behaved mint.
Try with:
Fine solo as a pleasant ADV. Use anywhere you want full-bodied spearmint. Careful adding Koolada/Ice.
Blurb:
Old-school Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum (white pack)
Strawberry
Note: Tasted at 1% - 3%
Flavor:
Simple, jammy, juicy, macerated red berry with strawberry perfume. Relentlessly jammy. Powerful but not bright (few top notes). No off flavors or chemically notes but not quite strawberry fruit.
Try with:
Puzzle. Use to add depth and fat, jammy quality to berry mixes. PB&J!? Try against astringent/bitter flavors (tea? licorice?). Start at low %’s.
Blurb:
Strawberry bonbon fruit centers
Tobacco, Cured
Flavor:
Wow. This tastes like walking into the tobacco shop with my dad in the late sixties. Sweet, nutty pipe tobacco. Acetyl (grapey) sweetness up front with pecan, cedar and earthy notes. Smooth, light smokiness on the exhale.
Try with:
Terrific as is. Try as a base for traditional pipe blends. Strong. Start @ 2% maybe?
Blurb:
Scary good flue cured. A little sweet.
Tobacco, Virginia
Flavor:
Pleasant tobacco fruitiness with obvious Indian spice (clove, cardamom, bay) undertones. Light caramel sweetness but not cloying or RY4-dirty. Hint of rose flavor (low notes) in the body but doesn’t persist. Reminds me of a good-quality cig-a-like flavor. Clean (again) without over-lingering perfuminess or odd fusels.
Try with:
Versatile tobacco base though just fine as a solo flavor. Would make a really nice base for a Sher Bidi clove-style juice. Should play well with other flavors (fruit, nuts).
Blurb:
Caramel tobacco with Indian spice
Tropical Citrus
Flavor:
Pretty, subtle tangerine flavor with sweet undertone and nice balancing acidity Light flavors with soft fruitiness underneath. No flavors really stick out of the mix and overall impression is tangerine/tangelo.
Try with:
Nice solo as a subtle citrusy vape. Should carry other fruit flavors well while adding brightness to fruit mixes
Blurb:
Light, pretty Tangerine.
Tropical Punch
Flavor:
Pleasant if somewhat generic tropical punch flavors with no one flavor dominant. Very “Red Hawaiian Punch”. Mild flavor. No off notes present.
Try with:
Try with rum, tropical/citrus fruits, rose and almond in a Mai-Tai mix.
Blurb:
“How-d’ya like a nice Hawaiian Punch?”
Watermelon
Flavor:
Tastes the way your mouth tastes after eating watermelon. Pleasant, ripe, green, sweet, a little earthy. But watermelon breath - not watermelon.
Try with:
Better at higher %’s (10%?) but still really subtle. Maybe this with a minuscule drop of mint as a summer vape? A bit like VV’s watermelon only weaker and less “rind-y”.
Blurb:
This one’s a puzzle. Smells great. Brilliant in seltzer water. But barely there as a vape.
